1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a torque tube apparatus, and, more specifically, to a torque tube apparatus that is mounted in a powertrain of a vehicle, and that connects two power transmission devices, provided at a given distance from each other, by using a rigid structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional type of a torque tube apparatus is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 05-85102 A. This torque tube apparatus is designed with the aim of facilitating the ease and efficiency of maintenance. The torque tube apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 05-85102 A connects a clutch and a transaxle that are provided at a given distance from each other. The torque tube shaft is provided between a clutch shaft extending from the clutch and a transaxle shaft extending from the transaxle. The torque tube shaft and the clutch shaft are fixed to each other with a bolt via coupling means. Similarly, the toque tube shaft and the transaxle shaft are fixed to each other with a bolt via coupling means.
The clutch and the transaxle are connected to each other by a cylindrical torque tube housing provided around the torque tube shaft. The torque tube housing includes a first tube provided adjacent to the clutch, a second tube provided adjacent to the transaxle, and a third tube provided between the first tube and the second tube. The first tube is removably attached to the clutch with a bolt. Similarly, the second tube is removably attached to the transaxle with a bolt. Each of the first tube and the second tube is movable with respect to the third tube in the axial direction.
With such a structure, when maintenance is performed, first, the first tube is removed from the clutch and the second tube is removed from the transaxle. Then, the first tube and the second tube are moved with respect to the third tube in the axial direction. Next, the clutch shaft and the transaxle shaft are disconnected from the torque tube shaft. Then, the toque tube shaft and the torque tube housing are removed from the position between the clutch and the transaxle. As a result, a space for a technician to perform maintenance on the clutch and the like is obtained.
As described thus far, in the torque tube apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 05-85102 A, the torque tube shaft and the torque tube housing are removable. Accordingly, maintenance on the clutch and the like can be performed without removing the entire powertrain from the vehicle. To remove these shafts and the housing, however, all the bolts used to fix these shafts and the housing need to be loosened and removed, which can be very time consuming. Also, the torque tube housing that extends between the clutch and the transaxle is very heavy, making it difficult to remove the torque tube apparatus. Accordingly, even with the torque tube apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 05-85102 A, the efficiency in performing maintenance is not substantially improved.